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Childs
"That's a crock-a-shit." -Childs' response to MacReady's hot needle test Childs is the chief mechanic of the U.S. Outpost 31, he is one of the two survivors of the Thing infestation at the outpost. He is portrayed by actor Keith David. History Antarctica, Winter 1982 Childs spots the Norwegians chasing an Alaskan Malamute, the pilot was killed when he accidentally dropped a grenade and the passenger was killed by Garry thinking that he was hostile, the crew adopted the dog. During the night, he was woken up by the fire alarm that was turned on by MacReady, MacReady ordered Childs to bring the flamethrower, he saw the unknown creature and then incinerates it. He then help subdue Blair who is suffering a mental breakdown, he destroyed the helicopters, tractor and radio with an axe, and killed the remaining sled dogs, containing further contamination. Paranoia quickly sets in as the first attempt to develop a test using uncontaminated blood samples is sabotaged by an unknown party. He and the others begin to suspect MacReady is infected with the Thing when a scrap of torn shirt containing his name tag is found at the camp, and locked him outside in a severe blizzard. If a human MacReady died outside in the storm, he only feels that he would just be wrong. Somehow finding his way back to camp without a guide line, a shivering MacReady breaks into a storage room and threatens the rest of the crew with dynamite. In the course of the standoff, Norris suffers a heart attack. When Copper attempts to revive him by defibrillation, Norris' body transforms and bites off Copper's arms and he bleeds to death. Norris' head detaches from his body and the alien uses it in an attempt to escape as the others burn the body, but the head is discovered and incinerated. MacReady proposed a test on everyone to tell who is human and who is a replica. Clark in an act of mutiny tries to stab MacReady with a scalpel, but is quickly shot in the head and killed by MacReady in self-defense. The rest of the crew complies with the test; blood samples are drawn from each member of the team including Copper and Clark and jabbed with a hot wire to see whose blood will react defensively. Upon realizing that Clark was not infected, Childs denounces MacReady as a murderer. Palmer, the backup pilot, is unmasked as an imitation, and manages to kill Windows before being destroyed by MacReady with dynamite, who also torches Windows' body with a flamethrower as it begins to transform. Childs' test proves that he is human, Childs was ordered to guard the main gate, but he inexplicably abandons his post for an unknown reason. Childs encounters MacReady, he claims to have seen Blair and gotten lost while chasing him in the snow. With the polar climate closing in around them, they acknowledge the futility of their distrust, sharing a drink as the camp burns and the cold returns. The Thing (video game) Childs' body was discovered by Bravo Team who were assigned to investigate the outpost; he presumably died from exposure to the cold. 'Infected?:' There is a possibility Childs could've been infected as the moment he leaves his post, the power goes out, meaning Blair had to be hiding in the generator room all along. It would've been impossible for Childs to see Blair out in the snow if the power cut out just seconds after abandoning his post. So, Blair could've snuck upstairs, attacked and infected Childs then had him leave camp to avoid the showdown between Blair-Thing and the remaining team members. If the Blair imitation was killed, the Childs imitation would've had itself frozen and waited for a rescue team. This is similar to what the Dog-Thing in the beginning of the film attempted. The script describes MacReady secretly having a torch under his blanket and Kurt Russel said so himself. He gives Childs a shot of Whiskey and his willignness to share a drink shows his lack of concern for infection, hinting that he's possibly infected himself and MacReady gives a gentle laugh to show this. Its possible that he torched Childs shortly afterwards if the game canon doesn't apply. Not to mention that if Childs did see Blair in the snow, he wouldn't run out in the snow alone, he likely would've gone to the remaining team members and inform them of what he saw. His distrust of MacReady earlier in the film proves this as when MacReady is locked outside after Nauls cuts the cable loose to leave MacReady stranded in the snow, Childs opted to lock him outside and let his freeze to death despite Palmer wanting to blow MacReady away due to him being so close and outnumbering Mac. Childs made this choice when he had Palmer, Norris , Windows , and Nauls as back up. Though this theory may be dismissed from the game's canon. Gallery File:Vlcsnap-2010-06-18-12h14m59s98.png|MacReady threatens Childs File:Thethingend.jpg|Childs confronts MacReady Category:Characters Category:1982 characters Category:Living characters Category:Deceased characters Category:Mechanics